Two INVEST research projects given Academy of Finland grants
INVEST researchers Mia Hakovirta from the University of Turku and Maria Vaalavuo from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare were granted funding for their projects. Funding is granted for a four-year term from September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2025.
Academy Project Funding is the most important funding instrument of the Research Council for Culture and Society for promoting the impact and renewal of research. In addition to high scientific quality of the research plan, the Research Council paid special attention to projects that combine high quality with strong academic and societal impact and/or science renewal.
Mia Hakovirta received funding for “A comparative study on the economic wellbeing of shared care families”. The projects investigates how parents divide financial responsibility of children in shared care families in Finland, Germany and the US.
– The project is very current as the Finnish government programme includes several goals to consider the diversity in children’s residence arrangements in legislative drafting. Hopefully this study can provide information for policy-making needs. The funding allows us to continue domestic and international collaboration, said Hakovirta.
Maria Vaalavuo received funding for the project “Mental health and social disadvantage over the early life course: investigation into genes, families and living conditions”. The project studies health inequalities over the early life course and transmission of social disadvantage from parents to children.
– I am extremely thankful for the funding as it enables this study, which adds to many of my previous studies on health, inequality and disadvantage. I consider this a groundbreaking project as it intends to make use of genetic data in social sciences, said Vaalavuo.